This is a bit of a rant, so I apologize in advanced, I just need to get this off of my chest. I hear a lot of phrases being thrown around online (not on this site so much, but everywhere), in person, and with people I am thinking of having some sort of sexual contact with. Here are some of them that I disagree with and I think are damaging to our community. This is probably obvious to everyone here, but I am recently out, and it is very frustrating to hear this from people in real life, so I just need to vent for a bit. You wont get HIV from your first time having sex, the odds are too low. I used to have HIV, but I tested undetectable, so I am clean now. I used to have HIV, but I tested undetectable, so it is impossible for me to transmit anything to you. It is morally superior to not rule out a relationship with someone who is positive if you are negative. Being HIV positive is not a big deal. I just want to get it over with and contract HIV, so that I can stop worrying about contracting it. HIV treatment is free now, so why worry about it. Having HIV will not decrease your life expectancy. If you have HIV, your life won't change. It is really hard to get HIV. You only get HIV if you are promiscuous. And so on, and so on. It is great to talk about statistics and journal articles that just came out and how a pill can fix it all these days, but you can contract HIV from a single sexual encounter, condoms are not 100% effective, viral loads change, and contracting HIV is a life changing problem. I feel like there is this attitude (especially among my own generation) that HIV is not a big deal, it will be fine, I won't get it, don't worry, you certainly won't get it, even if you do get it, who cares, just take a pill and it will all be fine. I know that this is not the attitude that everyone has, but I hear it from way too many people, and it is incredibly frustrating. Would anyone who is free of STD's honestly trade lives with someone who has HIV? I don't think so. Obviously having HIV makes life more difficult. So why wouldn't I do everything in my power to keep from contracting it, or any STD for that matter? I feel terrible for people that have to live with HIV, and I feel like this attitude that it is not a big deal is destructive to the entire social environment that we live in. Sorry for ranting, I just needed to get that off of my chest. Please let me know if my statements are invalid. The whole point of this place is open discussion. I want to hear what others think of my viewpoint, so please discuss. Thanks for existing EC, I really need this avenue for expressing myself sometimes.
